Farm - Homestead - Hobby Farm?
People ask us all the time. What is a hobby farm anyway?
So as my grandkids say “Go search it up Mamie”, lol!
We used to say “Go look it up, lol!” and to the encyclopedia or dictionary we went, but of course I asked Siri, lol!
Hobby Farm:
A small-scale farm that is primarily for pleasure.
Farm/Homestead
An area of land and buildings, used to raise crops or livestock to make a living for your family.
Starting a "Hobby Farm" from scratch
When our grandkids started getting older, we threw around the idea of moving from our subdivision, and getting some property out in the country.
Maybe a few animals, and a couple mini bikes for them to ride around on.
Well, it happened! 9 acres, a little house and a couple outbuildings are ours!
Life takes an unexpected turn
After speedily painting, landscaping, packing and staging our old house, then moving to our new house…and repeating everything in reverse, lol!
My back was tired, even my eyelids were tired…I didn’t feel like myself at all!
I needed a break. Our church was having a women’s retreat in a town about 45 minutes away.
I wasn’t feeling the best, but I wanted to go anyway.
Walking across the parking lot, carrying my overnight bag, felt like I was lifting 80 lbs!
After dinner and a program, I went to bed early.
Around 2:00 in the morning, I quietly packed my bag, whispered to my friend Carolyn, I was going home and drove the 45 minutes to my house.
My husband knew something was wrong…4 hours later, I was in an operating room getting two stents put in my heart. Ugh.
Time to rest…one way or another
Ken still traveled 3-4 days a week for work but was staying close to home while I got my strength back.
Well I sure wasn’t going to sit around and do absolutely nothing….lol, but at that time, the RECLINER, was my best friend!
It was the winter of 2019, spring was two short months away.
What’s a hobby farm without farm animals? Let’s get some!
Wait a minute…we don’t know the first thing about raising farm animals. So where do you go to learn a new skill in 2019? YouTube!
Sit...Heal...and Learn.
I found a gal on YouTube that I connected with right away. Her channel was called “Roots and Refuge”
She has a saying” Turn your waiting room into a classroom”
Meaning: As your are waiting for your dream/plan to happen…
Healing
Losing weight
Getting married
Finding a better job
Having a baby
Retiring
Etc.
Use that waiting time to study, learn from others, read about and practice a new skill, etc.
That really touched my heart! I could use this time to do exactly those things!
Let's get some farm animals!
Goats? Chickens?
Mini’s or Regular sized?
There are different breeds? Oh brother…we are pathetic, lol!
Generally, the idea of raising chickens first, was shared by most farm vlogs, saying they are the “gateway” farm animal.
Little did we know…the raising of chickens was anything but easy. The list of phrases, terms and requirements was getting so long!
Instead of feeling more confident in our new knowledge…we felt overwhelmed!
My husband said…Roosts, feed requirements, brooders, breeds. Where do we even start?
Ken looked at me and said “I know what every farm needs…a dog!” We’ve always had a dog! We know how to take care of a dog…let’s get a dog.
Dog rescue 101
Our family has always had a dog. They have always been a “rescue” in one way or another.
On the rescue sites Ken went. He had read an article about rescued dogs stating the least adopted dog color was black/white.
He was looking in an 80-mile radius for a medium sized dog. Less than 2 years old. Possible black and white…lol.
Hours of filling out application forms with questions like:
Who’s going to take care of the dog when you’re not home? (Not home? We are going to be retired)
What kind of training do you have planned? (Training…sit, stay. Good dog)
What is your past dog history? (We’ve rescued 3 dogs and kept them until they passed away)
And on and on…by the time we filled out the paperwork and submitted the application the dog we picked was already gone.
We actually wanted a medium sized dog, but our hearts were broken when a pair of female dachshunds were given to a different family.
Here is our last dog “Harley”
He was microchipped, but the number was no longer in service and the address was not valid…so we took him home from a shelter in Milwaukee and had him for about 10 years before he passed away.
Finally, when checking the website of a somewhat local rescue center,
“Friends Forever”: https://www.friendsforeverhs.org/
He saw a 11 month old female…Catahoula/hound mix.
She was 45 lbs, rescued from Louisiana, sent up north to this facility.
Her name was “Drew” that is our grandsons name, and she was black and white.
Two weeks later, she was in our car on the way to her forever home. Ken renamed her “Happy”.
Happy wasn't all that happy, lol!
She had been found as a stray at 5 months old. Trips to Texas for her vet care and shots, than back to Louisiana before ending up in Freeport, IL 6 months later. Who knows what she went through…
There was a rocky introduction to the grandkids…Happy was shy and trying to learn her new surroundings.
Even though I liked all animals, Ken is the animal lover…especially dogs.
She was house trained in two days and continued to settle in during the winter of 2019.
Happy is finally happy! ...kind of, lol!
Medium sized? uummm no.
She continued to grow and grow….and grow. She now weighs 80 lbs!
What farm is complete with out a huge farm dog, lol!
You can't stop
It didn’t take long for us to decide on our next animal, lol. You know animals on a farm are like Lays potato chips… you can’t stop with one.
See you next time.
Fondly, Sandy
I believe it’s so important to keep learning new things especially after retirement! It makes life so enjoyable!
You are so right Penny! So many interesting things to learn about…